Before crafting one of pop culture's most indelible portraits of a modern mafioso in "The Sopranos," James Gandolfini ... had a lot of practice.

The actor, who died suddenly in Rome Wednesday, played various and sundry henchmen in films such as "The Juror," "Get Shorty" and "True Romance," but he was never a standard-issue heavy, always infusing the roles with a touch of humanity or pathos.

The son of a custodian and a school lunch lady, the Jersey native specialized in everyday blue-collar types, such as the chemical company worker who testifies against his employer in "A Civil Action," or the dockworker brother in "Money for Nothing," or the poker player who offers the last line — "The game is seven-card stud" — in "A Streetcar Named Desire," his Broadway debut in the 1992 revival.

Here are some moments from Gandolfini's early career (warning, some language NSFW):